Law Firm Effectively Axes Winner In SCOTUS Gun Case

From the Wall Street Journal editorial board:

A 6-3 victory at the Supreme Court vindicating a constitutional right is usually cause for congratulations, but not these days at Kirkland & Ellis, the giant white-shoe law firm. The firm has rewarded partner Paul Clement for his triumph Thursday in the big New York gun-rights case by telling him to drop his gun clients or leave the firm.

As Mr. Clement and his litigation partner, Erin Murphy, explain, they’re leaving the firm rather than dump their clients. That’s the honorable and ethical decision. But it’s worth noting how extraordinary it is for a law firm to fire its victorious clients whose rights have been upheld by no fewer than six Justices.

“Kirkland & Ellis announced today its decision to no longer represent clients with respect to matters involving the interpretation of the Second Amendment,” the firm said in a press release, without explanation.

Read the full editorial.

The usual suspects are screaming below.

Clement, you may recall, was the chief defender of the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA) in US v Windsor.

He also led the case that nearly toppled Obamacare.

During the presidential campaigns of John McCain and Mitt Romney, he was regularly floated as their potential pick to be a Supreme Court Justice.